Obtaining Hay During the Drought

If you have hay for sale, please contact David Branham, SC Farm Bureau Federation,(803) 936-4692.

Commodity Feed Brokers...

Soybean hulls, pelleted soybean hulls, whole cottonseed, cottonseed hulls, citrus pulp (new crop only), corn gluten, corn dried distillers grain, ground corn, cracked corn, hominy, soybean meal, corn screen-ings, and wheat mids. Carries calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, vitamin trace packs, and vitamins A, D, & E. Also carries bypass protein package, Pro-Lac, manufactured by H.J. Baker.

Whole cottonseed, hominy, soybean hulls, TMR, roughage extenders, miracle mash, wet brewers grain and soybean hulls, BIR, maltage, wet brewers grain, alfalfa cubes, soybean meal, and cottonseed hulls.

Citrus Pulp, whole cottonseed, cottonseed hulls, soy hulls and limited soybean meal and corn.

Whole cottonseed, cottonseed hulls, corn dried distillers, soybean mill, soybean hulls, hominy, and corn gluten. Can mix several commodities.

Whole cottonseed, cottonseed hulls, corn dried distillers, corn gluten, soybean meal, soybean hulls, hominy, citrus pulp, peanut meal, rice meal, and cottonseed meal.

Alton Piester Trucking
Newberry, SC
(888) 771-9266
(803) 276-7556
Alton Piester

Feeding Your Horses During a Drought
C. J. Mortensen, Ph.D., Clemson University

Diet changes should be made gradually over two to three weeks to prevent or limit the chances for colic or other digestive disorders.

Roughage is the most important component of a horse’s diet and should make up the majority (at min. 50%) of a horses diet.

Increasing the concentrate portion of the diet should not be substituted when availability of roughage is low.

Horses require at a minimum 1% body weight of roughage per day (1000 lb. horse = 10 lbs. roughage per day). Ideally, roughage should equal 1.5 to 2.0% per day.

Drought presents many challenges to horse owners when trying to find quality forage or maintain horses on pasture. The most important portion of a horse’s diet is roughage which are feeds high in fiber (> 18%), and should not be replaced or supplemented with an increase in concentrate. During times of drought, the nutritive value of roughage is less important, as the fiber, or physical bulk of the feedstuff, is more important for digestive health. The goal of a horse owner should be to carefully manage their hay supply during a drought.

Kleingrass (causes liver damage)
Johnsongrass (toxic)
Sorghum-sudan crosses (toxic)
German Millits (toxic)

Nitrates are also a concern for horse forage. The National Research Council has not established an upper limit for toxicity in horses, though one study fed over 1.7% (17,000 ppm) nitrate and did not observe any toxicity in non-pregnant mares. A good rule of thumb would be to not exceed 6,500 ppm or .65% nitrate to be considered safe.

Owners may find alternatives to common hays to supplement the roughage portion of the diet or may be forced to stretch their hay supply. Owners are advised to weigh out the roughage given to each animal to reduce waste and overfeeding.

Some common feedstuffs that can replace a portion of the roughage portion of the diet:

Alfalfa (legume hays)
Oat hay
Straw (Oat straw is more palatable than wheat or barley straw)
Alfalfa hay cubes (soaking aids digestibility/intake)
Alfalfa pellets
Beet pulp (May require soaking to make it more palatable, do not exceed 10 lb/day)
Soy hulls
“Complete” feed (ensure > than 15% fiber)
Rice bran (high in fat and phosphorus, may need to supplement calcium if not balanced by manufacturer)
Wheat bran (high in phosphorus, may need to supplement calcium if not balanced by manufacturer)
Oats (considered safe to feed, contains more fiber than other grains)

It is not recommended to completely replace long stem forage. Changes from long stem hay diet to one that contains no long stems increases the risk of digestive disorders, such as colic. However, the above mentioned replacements or alternatives can be supplemented in the diet to aid owners through the dry months. With alternate feeds greater than 14% crude fiber, long stem forage requirements can be reduced to as little as .5% BW/day (1000lb horse = 5 lb forage). If other alternative feeds are utilized (less than 14% CF), .75% BW/day should be the minimum fed. Senior feeds high in fiber can be used in a short-term emergency situation for younger horses, however they should be fed forage if possible.

Horses may lose body condition during drought. If owners feed lower quality roughage and increase concentrates (grain) to limit body condition loss of their horses, here are some helpful tips:

If increasing concentrates fed, each meal should not exceed 0.5% body weight (1000 lb. horse = 5 lbs concentrate).

Owners must also be cautious of horses on pasture during a drought. The rule of thumb is one adult horse on 2 acres of pasture, or 1 acre for a yearling or pony. However, during drought this can increase depending on availability of forage. Horses may need a roughage supplement to prevent overgrazing or damaging pastures, which can harm future availability. Additionally, horses may graze weeds or chew on trees, either due to boredom or lack of gut fill which can be detrimental. Finally, horses will even pull up the roots of grasses, and in areas with sandy soils, this can lead to problems with sand colic.

If in doubt about any hay source or forage replacement, please contact your county agent.

USDA EXPANDS CRP EMERGENCY HAYING AND GRAZING -- Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced a measure to provide livestock in drought-affected states with needed additional hay and forage. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage

eligible for emergency haying and grazing in Alabama, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee (BLUE area) has been expanded to include land (in YELLOW) in an area radiating 210 miles out from all counties previously approved for emergency haying and grazing. The expansion includes most of Georgia.
"We are closely monitoring the drought and providing assistance when we can," said Johanns. "Emergency haying and grazing is a helpful tool for livestock owners and I'm pleased to make it available to more farmers and ranchers."
CRP is a voluntary program that offers annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term resource-conserving cover on eligible land. The expansion permits approved CRP participants to cut hay or graze livestock on CRP acreage, providing supplemental forage to producers whose pastures have been negatively affected by drought.
To be approved for emergency haying or grazing, a county must be listed as a level "D3 Drought - Extreme" or greater according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html, or have suffered at least a 40 percent loss of normal moisture and forage for the preceding four-month qualifying period. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) state committees may authorize emergency haying or grazing of CRP land in counties currently listed as level D3 drought CRP participants who want to apply for emergency haying and grazing to their local FSA office must wait until after the nesting season for certain birds.
Only livestock operations located within approved counties are eligible for emergency haying or grazing of CRP acreage. CRP participants who do not own or lease livestock may rent or lease the grazing privilege to an eligible livestock farmer located in an approved county. Producers with CRP acreage that is hayed or grazed will be assessed a 10 percent reduction in their annual rental payment.
Maps relating to this announcement and more information on emergency haying and grazing are available at local FSA offices and online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=copr&topic=crp-eg
USDA offers a number of programs to assist producers affected by drought or other natural disasters. More information is available on FSA's Web site, http://www.fsa.usda.gov; click on Disaster Assistance Programs.

For questions about this page contact David Branham
SC Farm Bureau Federation (803) 936-4692